Chihuahua aggressive when Im approached

Question
My daughter's 1 year old male Chihuahua is very sweet and good natured about everything EXCEPT: whenever somebody in my family approaches me to give me a hug, he gets hysterical and tries to nip/bite at them, barking, etc. Why is he doing this and what can we do to stop the behavior? Thanks so much for any input.

Answer
You may think he's your daughter's dog, but my guess is that he considers you to be his most valuable resource.  Are you the primary person who normally feeds him, lets him out, or provides other things he likes?  

If he is "guarding" you (and that doesn't necessarily connote that he is aggressively guarding - sometimes, despite the fact that it looks like aggression, it can also be fear-based) then it is likely that he considers you his property rather than vice versa.  The easiest way to change that dynamic is to make yourself more of a leader (a benevolent one, of course).  

My advice would be to take the little guy to some obedience classes, ones that are based on positive reinforcement principles.  Clicker training can work well, since you will be able to modify his behavior by immediately acknowledging what he does correctly, and extinguishing his undesirable behaviors.  To learn more, visit www.clickertraining.com, or take a look at the free lessons here: www.clickerlessons.com.  If you want to find a clicker trainer in your area so that you can take classes, you might have some luck here: www.clickerteachers.net.